Here is Where I am and I Intend to Stay
by writingangel13
Summary: Who the hell were Francis, Zoey and Emma? He didn’t know them. He knew a Rochelle, Coach and Ellis." What if all the survivors met? What would happen? Who would fall for who? Come see! NickXZoey and EllisXOC rated for later content.
1. The Alarm that Brought them Together

_**So I have always wanted all 8 of the survivors from both games to meet so here is how I think it would go!**_

_**P.S. I own nothing but my OCs**_

Nick had learned to be careful what he said around Rochelle. She had gone off on him so many times for his sarcastic attitude toward absolutely everything he had just taken to just keeping his mouth shut. He would never admit it to any of them, but he really did care about them. Even Rochelle. He half smiled as he stared at her back as they moved across an open field. They hadn't seen any zombies for miles, but Nick never let his guard down.

Even as he watched the young newscaster move easily with her huge pick ax, his ears were always alert for the sounds of those god forsaken hordes, smokers, hunters, boomers, jockeys, chargers or everyone favorite; the tanks.

At this moment there seemed to be nothing going on, and Ellis decided this would be a good time to announce he had to pee. At the announcement Nick realized he also had to relieve himself. He followed Ellis to a tree in the middle of the field. They both unzipped at the same time as Rochelle rolled her eyes and turned away.

"What's the matter Ro?" asked Coach smiling. "Its nothing more than you have seen right?"

Rochelle glared at him.

"I don't want to see _their_ stuff. They are like my fucking brothers," she said.

Ellis smiled back at her then glanced at Nick.

"What do you think about her?" he asked Nick.

He smiled and said, "she is obnoxious and thinks she can do everything herself, and it will probably get her killed, but I would go back for her."

"Yeah me too," Ellis said decidedly.

Just as the words left his lips the sound of a high pitched alarm sounded over an empty field. Ellis and Nick zipped up and jogged back to Coach and Rochelle.

"Where that coming from Ellis wondered aloud.

"Down there!" Rochelle said pointing over a hill with her pic ax.

"A safe house!" Ellis shouted happily.

"and there is our worst nightmare," Coach said pointing into the trees.

As he said it a tree all but uprooted as a tank came through towards the sound. He was leading an army of zombies accompanied by the screams of hunters. They were bounding through the tops of trees resembling monkeys. Smokers and spitters were sprinting out ahead of the rest of the hord. Who knew they were faster than normal zombies. They realized there were boomers probably bringing up the rear. The four survivors knew their only chance was to run for the safe house.

"Move it!" shouted Coach pushing the stunned Ellis ahead of him.

Nick and Rochelle were already halfway down the hill as Coach and Ellis shot after them. Rochelle made it to a fence at the bottom of the first hill.

Nick and Rochelle were already halfway down the hill as coach and Ellis shot after them. Rochelle made it to a fence at the bottom of the hill first and began to shimmy up the chain link and somehow managed to get over the barbed wire at the top. Nick hit the fence just behind her and the tank roared. That sound put more coal on Coach's fire. He and Ellis made it to the fence just as Nick made it to the top. He tossed his 3000 dollar suit jacket over the barbed wire and sat atop it. By now he didn't even bother thinking about how much that suit had cost him.

He checked over his shoulder to make sure Rochelle was alright before he whipped his AK-47 around and killed the smoker before it could constrict Ellis. Rochelle unloaded a magazine into the oncoming hoard. It knocked them back far enough for Ellis and Coach to make it over the fence. Nick aimed his weapon at the tank charging them.

"Nick move it!" Coach yelled as he and the other two began firing through the chain link.

Nick slung his gun over his back and jumped from the fence dragging his previously white suit jacket with him. He hit the ground running with the others close on his tail. He turned and shot at the tank that was easily ripping the fence out. He unloaded his weapon into its thick, fleshy head which just angered the beast further.

It picked up a nearby car and tossed it in Nick's direction. He dove out of the way easily avoiding the three ton object by diving into a bush. Unfortunately the bush had thorns the size of toothpicks, one of which went straight through his left hand. He yelped in surprise drawing the attention of a few nearby zombies.

Nick cursed and tried to reload which was considerably harder that reloading with two. He soon found it useless and pulled out his Magnum. He shot the first two undead between the eyes and the third twice in the chest. He then looked around for the other three on his team breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them on the other side of the car. It was all too soon. The scream of a hunter froze Nick's blood.

He laid there silently hoping the hunter would miss him and continue on to the shrieking o the alarm but he wasn't that lucky. The hunter seemed to know he was there and pounced him from a football field away.

Nick shoved his empty AK-47 under the special infected's chest as he yelled for Ellis, Coach or Rochelle. A scream sounded from under the hunter's hood and Nick was sure he caught the hunter's eyes flash. The hunter screamed again and slashed at Nick's chest opening up a large gash on his chest. He yelped and pushed the hunter with all his strength, but the monster wasn't going anywhere until his head exploded.

Nick breathed a sigh of relief and mentally thanked whichever of his team had saved him. He glanced down at his suit and fell back against the tree. Blood was soaking through his blue shirt and he was starting to feel light headed. He started to get up but the world swam before his eyes. He fell forward straight into the arms of someone. At first he thought it was a zombie, but they pulled him up and threw his arm over their shoulder.

"Hang onto me," she said in his ear.

"Rochelle?" he asked groggily.

It didn't sound like the black woman in his company, but who else could it be? He tried to open his eyes, but all his extremities including his eyelids seemed to heavy to move.

"Francis I need your help!" the woman's voice shouted.

"Where did you find him Zoey?" a male voice asked.

"Emma found him," the woman yelled.

Who the hell were Francis, Zoey and Emma? He didn't know them. He knew a Rochelle, Coach and Ellis. He dimly heard a shotgun and a machine gun fire and the scream of another hunter. People were yelling and shouting out places to run. The girl he was leaning on was going terrifyingly slow so he managed to get his legs under him and help her a little. She felt the weight off her shoulder and glanced at him just as he was pulling his magnum.

He didn't look at her but aimed, poorly, but he unloaded a round into the oncoming horde slowing them a little. It turned out that slowed them down long enough for him and the girl carrying him to get into the safe room.

They practically dove headfirst into the darkness of the safe room. Nick heard the door slam behind them just before he hit the ground hard making his open wound burn. He yelled as tears escaped his eyes.

"I'm sorry," the girl said as she helped him up gently.

She led him to the couch and let him sit. Nick opened his eyes for the first time since the hunter had pounced him and he looked into the girl's face. She had long dark hair that was pulled back into a loose ponytail. Her face suggested that she was about 21. It was thin and easy to look at. She had blue eyes and thin, drawn lips. His eyes roamed over her casual outfit for this 'war' for lack of a better word. She was wearing a plain, white v-neck with a red zip up over it and jeans on the bottom. She had two holsters on either side of her waist holding identical pistols and over her back was slung a hunting rifle.

Nick blinked a few times to clear his vision before he looked around the room at the other people. There were three other men. One looked old and wore a green beret, an army field jacket and had a cigarette hanging from his lips. He seemed to hold the most authority. He was calmly looking out the safe room window, not even interested in the stranger in his presence.

The next person Nick noticed was a 6 foot tall guy hovering over the girl trying to heal Nick. He was wearing a leather vest, white t-shirt under it, dark pants and biker boots. There were tattoos covering every part of his skin that was visible and Nick immediately assumed he had been in a gang in the life before the infection.

The last guy reminded him of Rochelle. Not because the both had the same color skin, though that too, but the way he held himself and looked on, watching what was happening without getting involved unless called upon. Like at that moment he was being called upon.

"Louis, I need you medi-pack," the girl said as she gently helped Nick ease his arm out of his white blazer.

Louis came near and handed it over without question.

"My name is Zoey," the girl said to Nick. "What's yours?"

"Nick," he said before a groan escaped him.

Zoey had just begun to unbutton his blue shirt that was caked with halfway dried blood. She tried to be gentle pulling it away from the wound, but it wasn't really working. Nick was using all his the power he had not to punch her."I'm sorry I know it hurts, but I'm going to fix you up. You'll be good as new in no time."

_**Ok so I know this is a crappy time to end it, but its getting kind of long for one chapter, so yeah.**_

_**I also know that there are some confusing things in this chapter, but I swear all your questions will be answered in the next few. If you have a question you just cant wait to have answered, feel free to message me about it. **_J

_**Oh BTW: ALWAYS review 4 me please!**_

_**Constructive criticism is always welcome!**_


	2. Two Safe Rooms and 9 People

So I know there were some spelling and sentence mistakes in the last one and I apologize. I am normally really nit-picky when it comes to those things on my own stories especially. My computer was having some problems so it was lucky that I even got it up on Fanfiction, but yeah. My computer is good now, so no more excuses for bad spelling or sentence structure.

_**Thanks for being understanding!**_

_**I do not own anything L4D or L4D2. Only my OCs**_

Nick's mind was getting clearer as the pain pills Zoey had given him began to take effect. The area of his chest she was working on was still painful, but not unbearable like before. Suddenly the biker guy jumped up and looked around, eyes wide.

"Fuck!" he shouted. "Where is Emma?"

There was complete silence while they all looked around the room.

"She was right behind me I swear to god," Louis said.

"Fuck!" the biker yelled again and ran at the safe room door like a crazy person.

"Francis no!" Zoey shouted leaving Nick's side and running to help Louis and Bill hold Francis back.

They managed to keep him from opening the door long enough for him to tire and fall back against the wall. Zoey got down on her knees and put her hands on Francis's cheeks. Nick couldn't hear what she was saying, but she was obviously consoling him. She pulled his face to her shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. Nick was sure there was a good reason for this big, gnarly, dude to be crying his eyes out.

"She was his sister," said Louis coming to Nick's side.

He took up Zoey's position as she was preoccupied.

"They were close?" Nick assumed.

"She was the only thing he had left," Louis said not looking up from Nick's wound. "We are all any of us has left."

Nick wondered why those words sounded so familiar. It hit him a moment later. Ellis had said that.

"Fuck!" he shouted as Ellis, Rochelle and Coach crossed his mind.

He jumped up making Louis fall flat. Zoey, Francis and even Bill looked up at him.

"My friends!" Nick said heading for the door.

"Where do you think your going?" asked Zoey standing up.

"My friends are still out there somewhere," Nick said pushing past Zoey.

"Wait so the pretty boy gets to go save his friends but I don't get to save my sister?" asked a furious Francis half standing.

"No one is going anywhere," said Zoey trying and failing once again to hold Nick back.

"The fuck I'm not!" yelled Nick. "I will not be-"

"Shut up," said Bill looking over the scene with mild interest.

Nick stopped talking instantly. There was something about Bill that commanded respect. Though Nick normally loathed authority figures of any kind, there was something about this Bill guy. He reminded him painfully of Coach.

"Come here son," Bill said looking back out the small window in the safe room door.

Nick started to walk forward, but felt the energy left him all at once and he almost fell over. Had Zoey not been there he would have. She helped him over to where Bill was standing. Bill pointed out the window. Nick looked. At first all he saw was darkness, but soon his eyes adjusted to the growing twilight, and he saw another safe room door across a large parking lot. There was light streaming through the little window.

The tank charged after them picking up a nearby car and tossing it at Nick. He dove out of the way into a bush and out of sight.

"Nick!" Rochelle yelled.

They fought their way to the car through mobs of infected. It took them longer than Ellis would have liked, and finally when he jumped atop a car a smoker tongue wrapped around his waist. It pulled him forward over the car and up into a tree.

"Help!" he shouted.

He looked down and saw Nick who was too preoccupied with a hunter to worry about Ellis's smoker problem, which was understandable. Ellis's vision was starting to blur seeing as the smoker's tongue was wrapped around his neck. Suddenly the smoker exploded and the Hunter gave a strangled cry and fell off Nick, dead. Ellis fell from the tree and his leg gave way, though felt no pain. He was too busy trying to find Nick in all the green smoke from the dead special infected. It was particularly thick but right then Rochelle's voice could be heard through the smog.

"Nick! Ellis! Where are you?"

"Over here Roe!" Ellis yelled through coughs.

As he continued to look for Nick another hunter screamed. Elli's mind raced as he thought of Nick laying helpless somewhere getting pounced by another hunter. As Ellis was thinking this however, he tripped over something and fell right into the hunter on Nick. It let out a surprised screech, and Ellis pulled his baseball bat from where it hung by a shoe lace around his back opposite his gun. He then proceeded to beat the Hunter's face in until it fell over dead.

He bent to help Nick. He found his arm, and pulled the con man to his feet. He moaned as his head fell to Ellis's shoulder. Ellis was confused. He had helped Nick before, but he remembered the 35 year old man being heavier, and his head never fit quite so well into Ellis' neck because Nick was about a foot an a half taller than him. Also his hair never smelled like strawberries. Not that Ellis had ever smelled his hair on purpose.

Rochelle suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"Move it Ellis!" she yelled shooting a boomer with her rifle.

Its bile got all over an unfortunate spitter, attracting all the zombies to her. She fell under the hord, but the smell of bile remained long after Rochelle, Ellis and Nick to stumble to the safe room. Coach was waiting for them just inside ready to slam the door. Once inside Ellis gently put Nick on the floor, having anything even remotely close to a couch to put him on. It was completely dark inside except for the three flashlights attached to their guns.

Rochelle found a small lantern on the floor and lit it. She turned to face Nick and asses his injuries, but in his place was an unconscious young woman. She had dark brown hair that lay on her shoulders in natural curls. From her face they concluded that she was about 20, but she had the body of a sailor. She was about 5'9" and was as muscular as Ellis, but somehow just as lean as Rochelle, and on every part of her arms that were showing had tattoos that wound up and disappeared into her shirt. The dark lines were only broken by scratches and scars left by the infected.

She was wearing a blue flannel with the sleeves torn off. A plane white v-neck was visible underneath, through it was no longer white. There were red zig-zag lines across her chest and stomach where blood was soaking through from the Hunter's claws.

Rochelle, Coach and Ellis stood staring for a minute before the shirt was almost completely scarlet. Ellis was first to snap out of his confused trance.

"Come on Roe, heal her!" he said kneeling by her head.

Rochelle knelt also, opening the med-pac.

"Take her shirt off," she instructed Ellis.

Ellis blushed and looked down at her.

"Ellis now!" Rochelle hissed.

Ellis lifted her gently and pulled her arms carefully out of the flannel. Once he had that off he leaned her muscular form against his chest and slid the white v-neck off. He spread the flannel out under her back and folded the shreds of shirt as a pillow. He gently lowered her back to the floor, feeling her breath catch as he did. Rochelle found whatever she was looking for and came to Ellis' side. She handed Ellis a gauze pad and set down a bottle of antiseptic. She then took off what was left of the girl's undergarments, which made Ellis as red as a cherry. Rochelle looked at him and half smiled.

"Come on baby," she said. "You can't be embarrassed if you want to help her." Ellis gulped, and looked up at Rochelle needing direction. She smiled and said, "Just hold her still baby."

Ellis carefully maneuvered himself around so she had her head and shoulders on his lap. He put his hands on her shoulders making sure to keep his hands on her shoulders and eyes on her face. For almost twenty minutes Rochelle worked diligently, cleaning, sewing and bandaging the stranger's wounds. Once she had done everything she could, she left the girl in the young, yet capable hands of the mechanic.

Ellis was eager for her to wake up. He sat against the wall watching the rhythmic rise and fall of her bandaged chest, mildly interested in where she had come from. Then Nick popped into his mind.

"Aww shit," he said to himself letting his head fall into his hands.

Guilt suddenly overtook him as he thought about the sarcastic con man. This was the first time he had thought of his friend since they had found the stranger. Ellis felt terrible until suddenly he could have sworn he could hear Nick's voice.

"Damn, I'm loosin' it," he said to himself massaging his forehead.

But then he heard it again. It sounded far away, but he could distinctly hear the voice. He jumped up and dashed for the door.

"It can't be," he said looking out into the darkness.

But it was. Across the parking lot there was a safe room door with light from the window cutting through the darkness."Nick?" Ellis shouted making Rochelle and Couch jump.

"Ellis? Ellis is that you?"

It was Nick's voice.

"Yeah man! Your alright!" Ellis yelled elated.

"Ellis, sweety who are you talking to?" Rochelle asked coming up next to him.

Ellis didn't have time to answer.

"Yeah overalls, I'm ok."

"Nick?" Rochelle gasped.

"Hey Roe," Nick said, a warm smile evident in his voice.

"Its good to hear your voice baby," Rochelle said. "We thought we lost you back there.""Nah, you cant loose me that easy, princess," he said adding the nickname she hated.

"Sure your alright?" Rochelle asked, ignoring the jab at her sexuality.

"I'm alright. I got beat up by a hunter, but it's just a scratch. Oh and I found people!"

"Really?" Ellis piped up. "We did too! We thought she was you. She got pretty torn up by a hunter, but I fixed her up."

Rochelle stomped on his food.

"Ouch! What was that-" but one look at her raised eyebrow made him sigh. "Fine. Rochelle did a little," he informed Nick.

That earned him a swift punch on the arm.

"Jesus Christ will you save it for the zombies?" Ellis asked rubbing his arm.

"What does she look like?" Nick asked.

Ellis and Rochelle glanced at each other then at the stranger.

"Well, she has brown hair, she was wearin' a white shirt, and she is real pretty. She's got lotsa tattoos and she looks real strong."

There was nothing from Nick for a few seconds, then, "What's her name?"

"Don't right know. She's unconscious," Ellis replied.

"Ellis, does she have a tattoo on the inside of her left foot that said, 'Forgiven'?" Nick asked.

"Well how the hell did you know that?" Ellis asked after looking.

"Ellis, one of the guys here. That's his sister.""Damn, I love irony," Coach said smiling.

"I think she will be alright," Rochelle yelled out the window. "I think we got to her in time,"

There was a moments pause then Nick announced they were coming to the other safe house.

"Wait yours is bigger and has more supplies!" Ellis shouted. "We should come over there."

"And what are we going to get this girl across the parking lot with baby?" Rochelle asked.

"I can carry her," Ellis said not so subtly flexing.

"Boy, she is built like a tank," Coach said. "Can you carry a tank?"

Ellis looked dejectedly at his shoes, then glared back up at his companions. He turned and knelt next to the girl. Before Coach or Rochelle could say anything about it, Ellis had slid an arm under he knees and one around her back. He stood up rather easily, and turned to them. Rochelle and Coach sighed and Coach yelled, "Looks like we are coming over there."

They gathered what little supplies they had and Rochelle grabbed the flickering lamp. Ellis positioned the girl's limp form so it was curled against his chest rather than hanging from his arms like a corps. He tried not to mover so much so her stitches wouldn't rip, but he already saw small spots of blood on the clean bandages.

Rochelle tucked the girl's shirt and undergarments in her bag as Coach opened the door. Rochelle stayed on Ellis' right and Coach on his left. Everything seemed to be quiet, but they scanned the distance with their guns ready anyway. Halfway across the large expanse of land between the safe rooms, the girl in Ellis' arms began to stir.

"Francis?" she moaned.

"Hang on. We're almost there." She opened her eyes and stared blankly at Ellis for a second before she opened her mouth.

"My brother?" she rasped.

"He's fine," Ellis said.

Her energy seemed to leave her very suddenly and her head fell forward against Ellis' chest. He smiled down at her as he breathed in letting the strawberry smell of her hair fill him up. He opened his eyes and noticed Rochelle smiling at him. He quickly diverted his eyes and watched the open door of the safe room ahead of them. They made it into the room without incedent and Ellis laid the young woman gently on the beat up couch.

"Emma?" a big, tattooed man, Ellis could only assume was her brother, knelt next to her.

He took her hand and her eyes opened.

"Francis," she breathed.

"Hey sis," he said just as he saw the red spots on the bandages.

His eyes shone.

"Don't you cry you tough biker," Emma said smiling. "I'm going to be fine. What did we promise each other at the beginning of this?"

Francis smiled and nodded.

"I wont leave you and you wont leave me. I will get better."

**_Please Review! I kinda live for them!_**

**_Thanks!_**


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